![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In his study of homesickness among children, about 9 percent have it so bad that "it is associated with strong feelings of anxiety and depression, maybe even clinically significant symptoms," Thurber said. While the cloud often lifts after a few weeks, "the distress and level of impairment among some homesick persons can become extreme," according to Thurber's report published in 2007. Thurber said he has observed few differences in the length and intensity of homesickness between males and females. "The same would be true for a 28-year-old going to medical school in a different country." "If you look at an 8-year-old boy or girl at summer camp, and an 18-year-old university freshman, you would see very similar symptoms," he said. That homesickness is a spontaneous emotion also means both adults and children will feel its effects, Thurber said. It's just your emotions and mind telling you you're out of your element." But it's normal and adaptive to feel homesick for some period of time. But when it strikes, both children and adults often get caught off guard by it, he added. "Very few emotions stay with you all the time, they come and they go," he said. He offered another way of approaching homesickness: It's merely an emotion that comes in waves. You're missing what's normal, what is routine, the larger sense of social space, because those are the things that help us survive," Klapow said. "You're not literally just missing your house. When these qualities aren't present in a new environment, we begin to long for them - and hence home. Instead, it stems from our instinctive need for love, protection and security - feelings and qualities usually associated with home, said Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Alabama's School of Public Health. And neither is it exactly an illness, experts said. Yet despite the way it's coined, homesickness isn't necessarily about home. "A lot of my friends got married, had children and I'm not part of that because I'm not physically there, so you feel like you're losing out." "Lakes or rivers in the Midwest do not compare to the Caribbean Sea," she said.Īlso troubling was the sense that her loved ones had moved on without her. Pena-Hernandez craved the tropical fruits of Puerto Rico and the cool sea breeze. Those who suffer from the condition feel some form of anxiety, sadness and nervousness, and most distinctly, obsessive preoccupation with thoughts of home, Thurber said.Īfter Keila Pena-Hernandez came to the University of Missouri, she began missing friends and family in Puerto Rico. ![]() In a paper co-written by Chris Thurber and Edward Walton published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, homesickness is defined as "distress and functional impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home and attachment objects such as parents." magazine he misses home badly.)Įven so, only lately has there emerged a clearer sense of what homesickness is - a distinct adjustment disorder with identifiable symptoms - and what causes it. ("Twilight" star Robert Pattinson reportedly told a U.K. It is mentioned in the Bible's Old Testament book of Exodus and Homer's "Odyssey," and happens to just about anyone away from home - athletes and actors alike. Pena-Hernandez knows all about that she's felt it since she left home in 2004. This month, as thousands of freshmen and graduate students flock to colleges to begin a new academic year, many will be leaving home, some for the first time.Īs routines are replaced with new social and academic pressures, and home by a dormitory full of strangers, homesickness - the longing ache for the familiar, friends or grandma's cooking - sets in. The gym is awesome, but I didn't know anyone here." "This is nice, but this is not really home. "I started feeling homesick," she recalled. All she could think of were the faces of friends and family. The then 27-year-old health informatics doctoral student from Puerto Rico found herself lying on her bed after classes with the lights turned off and gazing out the window into the sky. "It's just like wow, wow, wow! I was just excited that I'm in new surroundings," she said.īy the third week, the novelty of her new surroundings had worn off. (CNN) - There was nothing but excitement for Keila Pena-Hernandez when she first stepped onto the grounds of the University of Missouri. Age can make a crucial difference in coping with homesickness.Expert: Homesickness is an emotion that comes in waves.Homesickness is a distinct adjustment disorder with identifiable symptoms. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |